The Questions Translation Clients Ask
Without a doubt, the two questions we get most from first time translation clients are ‘how much’ and ‘when’. How much will the translation cost and when can we get it? For these clients translation services are a commodity (mainly differentiated by price … and to some extent the project schedule).
Business clients are often more experienced in working with translation services. So business customers tend to ask better questions. They’re interested in pricing and project schedules too, but they also ask about:
- What if we need a small change made in the delivered translation?
- What is your quality assurance process?
- Translators’ familiarity with the subject matter in their area of business.
- Establishing an ongoing relationship with a translation services provider.
- The confidentiality policy. Can a formal non-disclosure agreement be executed?
- Whether human translation or machine translation is used.
- Are there discounts for repetition or volume?
- If a translation memory is created who owns it?
- How long has your company been in business?
- What about document design services? Are they available/additional/included?
There are many questions that translation clients, especially businesses can ask. The question translation companies might ask of clients is: “What’s important to you?”
If clients don’t tell us, we can’t know for sure.
